Doug Christie didn’t need long to spot the early tone-setters in Sacramento’s camp. Two newcomers, Darius Acuff Jr. and Ben Simmons, have already stood out to the Kings’ head coach, and Christie made it clear their communication and willingness to be coached have jumped off the floor.
“He wants to be good, he wants to be coached,” Christie said about Acuff. “For a young player, that is really a positive.”
That kind of feedback fits the buzz that has followed Acuff since he arrived in Sac Town. The reigning SEC Player of the Year has come in focused on helping the Kings turn things around while also building his own identity in the process.
General manager Scott Perry echoed that confidence last Friday during an appearance on SacTown Sports’ Radio. Perry acknowledged that Acuff will carry plenty of responsibility as a rookie, but said the organization is prepared to live with the “bumps and bruises.”
Perry also backed up Christie’s read on the guard’s mentality, calling Acuff’s desire to be great his most impressive trait.
The appeal is obvious. Sacramento has been looking for more shot creation and playmaking in the backcourt, and Acuff brings both. At Arkansas, he led the SEC in scoring at 23.5 points per game and assists at 6.4 per game, while helping the Razorbacks win the program’s first conference title in 26 seasons.
For a Kings offense that has lacked that kind of backcourt punch since the De’Aaron Fox trade, Acuff looks like a player with a real path to becoming the lead guard of the future.
Simmons has also made an immediate impression, though for very different reasons. After spending last season away from the NBA while working through mental health issues and lingering back problems, he returned to the league and landed with Sacramento on a one-year deal after the Kings were linked as one of the teams interested in him.
According to Senior NBA Writer Marc. J Spears, Christie didn’t need much convincing after Simmons’ early-September workout.
“Within minutes, Doug Christie was like, 'I'm good. Let's get him.'
He looked great... He's really, really happy, and proud, and excited to be a Sacramento King,” Spears said on SacTown Sports 1140.
There are still obvious offensive questions around Simmons, especially because of his lack of outside shooting, but the defensive upside is hard to ignore. He was a two-time All-Defensive First Team selection with the Philadelphia 76ers and has averaged 1.5 steals per game over his career.
Christie said Simmons can “guard anybody,” and that versatility matters. His size lets him handle bigger opponents, while his agility gives him a chance to stay with smaller guards too.
For a Kings team still sorting out roles as new pieces arrive and others return from injury, that kind of flexibility gives Christie more options when he puts lineups together.
In Other News...
Ben Simmons Could Create A Kings Rebuild Problem Fast
The Kings brought Ben Simmons in on a one-year veteran minimum deal to fill a specific role, with the expectation that he would back up Darius Acuff Jr. and help steady the second unit. After a season away while recovering, Simmons is back in the NBA, but Sacramento is clearly approaching the situation with caution. The idea is to keep his workload manageable and use this year as part of a broader youth movement, one that puts rookies and sophomores on the floor more often as the organization keeps its eyes on the future.
Ben Simmons, though, can complicate that plan quickly if he looks anything like the versatile defender and playmaker the Kings hoped to add. Sacramento wants development minutes to go to its younger players, not to a veteran whose presence could naturally pull touches and possessions toward him if he earns more court time. For a team trying to rebuild the right way, the challenge will be balancing Simmons health and utility against the need to stay committed to the kids who are supposed to define the next phase. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Are Testing How Much Ben Simmons Can Change This Team
Ben Simmons arrived at Kings training camp in noticeably better shape after spending last season rehabbing, and Sacramento is already using the early days to see just how many jobs he can handle. Coaches and teammates have seen the same thing that has defined his career at his best: a big, versatile playmaker who can start offense, move the ball, and defend across multiple positions without needing the system built entirely around him.
For a Kings team looking for ways to get more out of its lineup, Simmons offers a different kind of piece than the usual perimeter scorer or spacing-first forward. The challenge is obvious, though, because his limited shooting still shapes how he has to be used, and camp is now less about whether he fits and more about how far Sacramento can push his value without compromising the rest of the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Fans May Not Be Ready For How Rough This Rebuild Gets
The Kings are heading into the new NBA season with the kind of uncertainty that can make a fan base brace itself for a long winter. Veteran injuries have already complicated the roster picture, while younger players are still in the early stages of development and the coaching staff is under the microscope as Sacramento tries to sort out what the next version of this team is supposed to look like.
Scott Perry has made it clear this is not a quick fix, and that honesty comes with a hard reality for a franchise trying to stay patient. The rebuild is being framed as a long-term project, one that could bring a worse record before any real improvement arrives, and some outside projections already have the Kings near the bottom of the standings by 2026-27. For a fan base that has waited through enough false starts, the coming stretch may test patience as much as anything on the court. [Read more 🡒]